Regional Premiere, ‘Silent Sky’, is Next Show for Blue Barn

BLUEBARN Theatre Presents Regional Premiere of Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson

The BLUEBARN Theatre is proud to continue Season 28 with the historical drama, Silent Sky, by Lauren Gunderson.

BLUEBARN Producing Artistic Director Susan C. Toberer directs with set design by Martin Scott Marchitto, lighting design by Darrin Golden, costume design by Lindsay Pape, sound design by Craig Marsh, and properties design by Amy Reiner.

Shows run March 23-April 15; Thurs-Sat at 7:30pm, Sun, April 2 at 2pm, and Sun, April 9 at 2pm and 6pm.

Single tickets for Silent Sky are $30 for adults and $25 for students, seniors (65+), TAG Members, and groups of 10 or more.

Silent Sky is generously sponsored by Giger Foundation, First National Bank, Mutual of Omaha, and Valmont Industries.

About Silent Sky

A new play about Henrietta Swan Leavitt and the real women “computers” working at Harvard Observatory at the dawn of modern astronomy.  In this exquisite blend of science, history, family ties, and fragile love, a passionate young woman must map her own passage through a society unaccustomed to strong women in a man’s world.  A celestial romance and true story of discovery.

About the Stars of Silent Sky

Silent Sky showcases some of Omaha’s finest actresses:  Haley Haas (The Dresser, BLUEBARN Theatre) as Henrietta Leavitt, Sarah Carlson-Brown (Gnit, BLUEBARN Theatre) as her sister, Margaret, and Judy Radcliff (Our Town, BLUEBARN Theatre) as the wise Williamina.  Pamela Chase makes her BLUEBARN debut as the suffragette, Annie, as well as guest actor Christopher Joel Onken in the role of Peter Shaw.

About the BLUEBARN Theatre

The BLUEBARN Theatre has been bringing professionally-produced plays to area audiences since 1989. Since its inception, BLUEBARN has produced over 100 plays and has established itself as Omaha’s professional contemporary theatre company. Striving to bring artistically significant scripts and professional production values to Omaha and the surrounding region, BLUEBARN is known for high-quality entertainment and the fearless pursuit of stories that challenge both theatre artists and patrons.

About the Playwright, Lauren Gunderson

Lauren M. Gunderson is the most produced living playwright in America of 2016, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s 3-Year Residency with Marin Theatre Company.  She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship.  Her work has been commissioned, produced, and developed at companies across the U.S. including South Cost Rep (Emile, Silent Sky), The Kennedy Center (The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and Her Dog!), The O’Neill, The Denver Center, San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Theatre, Synchronicity, Olney Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, TheatreWorks, Crowded Fire, and more.  She co-authored Miss Bennett:  Christmas at Pemberley with Margot Melcon.  Her work is published at Playscripts (I and You, Exit Pursued By a Bear, The Taming, and Toil and Trouble), Dramatists (Silent Sky, Bauer, Miss Bennett) and Samuel French (Emilie).  Her picture book, Dr. Wonderful:  Blast Off to the Moon will be released from Two Lions/Amazon in May.

Blue Barn Holding Auditions for Regional Premiere, ‘Silent Sky’

The BLUEBARN Theatre is pleased to announce open auditions for the regional premiere of Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson. Auditions will be held on Saturday, December 3 and December 10 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Auditions will be held at the BLUEBARN located at 1106 S. 10th St. (10th & Pacific Streets.)

Performances for Silent Sky run March 23 – April 15, 2017 with rehearsals scheduled to begin February, 2017. Susan Clement-Toberer directs. Please contact Randall T. Stevens for more information at rstevens@bluebarn.org.

Available Roles

Henrietta Leavitt – 30s, brilliant, meticulous

Margaret Leavitt – 30s, handsome, creative, Henrietta’s sister

Peter Shaw – 30s, head astronomers apprentice

Annie Cannon – 40s, leader of the female commuters, terse, sure

Willamina Fleming – 50s, smart and fun, Scottish

About Silent Sky

A new play about Henrietta Swan Leavitt and the real women “computers” working at Harvard Observatory at the dawn of modern astronomy. In this exquisite blend of science, history, family ties, and fragile love, a passionate young woman must map her own passage through a society unaccustomed to strong women in a man’s world. A celestial romance and true story of discovery.

About the BLUEBARN Theatre

The BLUEBARN Theatre has been bringing professionally-produced plays to area audiences since 1989. Since its inception, BLUEBARN has produced over 100 plays and has established itself as Omaha’s professional contemporary theatre company. Striving to bring artistically significant scripts and professional production values to Omaha and the surrounding region, BLUEBARN is known for high-quality entertainment and the fearless pursuit of stories that challenge both theatre artists and patrons.

Blue Barn Announces Season 28: Identity

BLUEBARN THEATRE introduces Season 28: Identity

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht (September 22 – October 16, 2016)

Described by Brecht as ‘a gangster play that would recall certain events familiar to us all’, Arturo Ui is a witty and savage satire of the rise of Hitler – recast by Brecht into a fictional, small-time Chicago gangster’s takeover of the city’s greengrocery trade in the 1930s. The satirical allegory combines Brecht’s Epic style of theatre with black comedy and overt moralism. Using a wide range of parody and spoof – from Al Capone to Shakespeare’s Richard III and Goethe’s Faust-Brecht’s compelling parable continues to have relevance wherever totalitarianism appears today.

The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged) by Austin Taylor and Austin Tichenor (November 25-December 19, 2016)

Welcome to the Annual Holiday Variety Show and Christmas Pageant at St. Everybody’s Non-Denominational Universalist Church, where all faiths are welcome because we’ll believe anything. But there’s a problem: none of the acts scheduled to perform have arrived, so three members are pressed into service to perform the entire Variety Show and Christmas Pageant by themselves. An irreverent yet heartwarming trip through the holidays, The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged) is festive and funny as these Three Wise Guys send up and celebrate our favorite holiday traditions.

Hir by Taylor Mac (February 2-26, 2017)

Somewhere in the suburbs, Isaac has returned from the wars to help take care of his ailing father, only to discover a household in revolt. The insurgent: his mom. Liberated from an oppressive marriage, with Isaac’s newly out transgender sibling as her ally, she’s on a crusade to dismantle the patriarchy. But in Taylor Mac’s sly, subversive comedy, annihilating the past doesn’t always free you from it.

Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson (March 23-April 15, 2017)

A new play about Henrietta Swan Leavitt and the real women “computers” working at Harvard Observatory at the dawn of modern astronomy. In this exquisite blend of science, history, family ties, and fragile love, a passionate young woman must map her own passage through a society unaccustomed to strong women in a man’s world. A celestial romance and true story of discovery.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert–The Musical by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott (May 19-July 1, 2017)

Based on the smash-hit movie, Priscilla is the heartwarming, uplifting adventure of three friends, Tick, Bernadette, and Adam, a glamorous Sydney-based performing trio who agree to take their show to the middle of the Australian outback. They hop aboard a battered old bus “Priscilla,” searching for love and friendship and end up finding more than they could have ever dreamed of.

Featuring a hit parade of dancefloor favorites including “It’s Raining Men,” “I Will Survive,” “Hot Stuff,” “Finally,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “Go West,” “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” and “I Love The Nightlife,” this wildly fresh and funny musical is a journey to the heart of FABULOUS!

OUT OF THE BLUE, a Special Event series:  WALK THE NIGHT: Blue Barn’s immersive theatre event returns for its third installment, with a unique adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Five missing person’s cases (4 decades old, 1 recent); forbidden loves, swallowed by the unknown; secrets answered within a nomadic, mid-night festival. Location to be announced.

About The BLUEBARN Theatre

The BLUEBARN Theatre has been bringing professionally-produced plays to area audiences since 1989. Since its inception, BLUEBARN has produced over 100 plays and has established itself as Omaha’s professional contemporary theatre company. Striving to bring artistically significant scripts and professional production values to Omaha and the surrounding region, BLUEBARN is known for high-quality entertainment and the fearless pursuit of stories that challenge both theatre artists and patrons.